Don Slaught Marquee

b. September 11, 1958 · Kansas City Royals 1982–1984, Texas Rangers 1985–1987, New York Yankees 1988–1989, Pittsburgh Pirates 1990–1995, California Angels 1996, Chicago White Sox 1996, San Diego Padres 1997

In April 1986, batting for Texas, he was hit in the face by a pitch from Oil Can Boyd that broke his nose and his cheekbone and required surgery. He came back that season and hit .264, then .289 the year after.

Sixteen seasons gave him 1,151 hits, 235 doubles, 77 home runs, 476 runs batted in and a .283 average, which is a high figure for a catcher who played that long. He hit .300 or better four times, including .345 in 1992 for Pittsburgh.

He caught for the Pirates clubs that won three straight division titles from 1990 to 1992, and finished with three clubs in his last two seasons. He built a video hitting-analysis business afterward. No Hall of Fame ballot has listed him.

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1982	KCR	43	115	14	32	6	0	3	8	9	12	0	.278
1983	KCR	83	276	21	86	13	4	0	28	11	27	3	.312
1984	KCR	124	409	48	108	27	4	4	42	20	55	0	.264
1985	TEX	102	343	34	96	17	4	8	35	20	41	5	.280
1986	TEX	95	314	39	83	17	1	13	46	16	59	3	.264
1987	TEX	95	237	25	53	15	2	8	16	24	51	0	.224
1988	NYY	97	322	33	91	25	1	9	43	24	54	1	.283
1989	NYY	117	350	34	88	21	3	5	38	30	57	1	.251
1990	PIT	84	230	27	69	18	3	4	29	27	27	0	.300
1991	PIT	77	220	19	65	17	1	1	29	21	32	1	.295
1992	PIT	87	255	26	88	17	3	4	37	17	23	2	.345
1993	PIT	116	377	34	113	19	2	10	55	29	56	2	.300
1994	PIT	76	240	21	69	7	0	2	21	34	31	0	.287
1995	PIT	35	112	13	34	6	0	0	13	9	8	0	.304
1996	CAL/CHW	76	243	25	76	10	0	6	36	15	22	0	.313
1997	SDP	20	20	2	0	0	0	0	0	5	4	0	.000
Career	—	1327	4063	415	1151	235	28	77	476	311	559	18	.283

On this day & linked events

1958

Born September 11, 1958

Long Beach, CA, USA

1982

Major-league debut: Don Slaught

Don Slaught made a major-league debut on July 6, 1982.

1997

Final major-league game: Don Slaught

Don Slaught played a final major-league game on May 19, 1997.

Image: Andy Nelson, public domain